The Tree of Malaysia
The Tree of Malaysia is a historical drama film set in Malaysia during World War II. It was released in 2011 as KB Fan Fiction's 35th feature film. It is loosely based on The Tree of Life. After several years in development and missing 2009 and 2010 release dates, the film premiered in competition at the 2011 Asian Fan Fiction Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan, where it won the Golden Samurai. Premise Set in Malaysia during the Second World War, six Malaysian children with struggling families protect a tree they planted in a village from the invading Imperial Japanese Army. Plot In 1932, in British Malaya, Nadia, a 6-year-old Malay girl, recalls a lesson taught to her that people must remember their nation’s history. In the 1920s, her family receives a telegram informing her of the death of her brother, R.L. Nazim, aged eighteen, in military service. Zamani, her best friend of the same age, is notified by telephone. The friendship is thrown into turmoil. In 1932, the two friends’ best friend, Ah Leong, a Chinese boy, is adrift in his modern life as the son of an architect. One day he apologizes to his father on the phone for an argument about Nazim's death. The three rejoin three other friends: Kim Moi, a Chinese girl, Chandra, an Indian boy and Padma, an Indian girl, all of the same age. The group of six gather around a tree they believed to have been planted by the founders of the Malay State. They nicknamed it the “Tree of Malaya” to make them remember all the events which happen in their homeland from its very formation. The scene moves forward 10 years later, in 1942, when the Japanese army attack Malaya. Japanese War General Yoshiyuki Narita plans to take over the village the friends live in, and commanded that the tree be cut down for the construction of a Japanese bunker. The six friends try to defend the Tree from being cut down for Narita’s plan. Meanwhile at the Tree of Malaya, Zamani begins reflecting and we see shots of tall buildings under the sky, Zamani wandering in a vast desert, trees that stretch from the ground up to the sun high in their leaves and scenes from his childhood in the 1920s that all link together. The film later goes to flashbacks on the formation of the Malay Kingdoms. Then the Malacca Sultanate is formed. The Portuguese overran Malacca in 1511. And later the British took over Penang in 1786. The Japanese invasion made life miserable for the village folk, torturing them and implementing Japanization in the village's schools. At the time, the six friends try to convince the Japanese army not to cut down the Tree as it gives them memories about their nation’s past. They also learn a bit of Japanese language at school. They head to the Japanese Imperial Army's bunker to discuss with General Narita. When General Narita insisted that they will cut down the tree, Zamani’s father declared war on the Japanese army. During the course of the war between the village folk and the Japanese soldiers, Zamani's perceptions of the world begin to change, after several of Zamani’s childhood friends were killed by the Japanese soldiers in the battle. Zamani becomes angry at his father for his bullying behavior and begins to keep a running tally of his various hypocrisies and misdeeds while lashing out at his mother for allowing the behavior. However, a ceasefire is ordered by General Narita. Kim Moi's parents and the Communist party In a flashback, Zamani’s father takes a long business trip to Thailand in 1933. While he is away, the boys enjoy unfettered access to their mother. Shortly thereafter, the plant that he works at closes down due to abandonment. He is given the option of relocating and to work in a thankless position within the firm or to be made redundant. He and his family pack up to move to the new job location. He laments the course his life has taken, questioning whether he has been a good enough person. He asks Zamani for forgiveness for his harsh treatment of him. Eventually, in 1945, the Japanese surrender in Malaya due to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After hearing the news of his country's defeat in the war, General Yoshiyuki Narita finally decides not to cut down the Tree and orders his army to retreat. Those who are killed by the Japanese soldiers in the war are laid to rest at the Islamic and Chinese graveyards. The scene then moves to August 31, 1957: the Independence Day of Malaya. The six friends are 31 at the time, and they witness the Proclamation of Malayan Independence. After the event, Zamani leaves for the Tree. At the Tree, he experiences a vision of following his young self across rocky terrain, in the far distant future in which the sun expands into a red giant and a feeble white dwarf. Zamani tentatively walks through a wooden door frame, erected on the rocks. On a sandbar, Zamani sees images of death and the dead returning to life. He is reunited with his family and all the people who populate his memory. His father is happy to see him. He encounters Nazim, whom he brings to his parents. Accompanied by a woman in white and her younger self, Nadia looks to the sky. Zamani's vision ends and he leaves the tree smiling. The film ends in 1963, during the formation of Malaysia. The six friends are now 37 and continue in their working life. They re-visit at the Tree, now renamed the Tree of Malaysia, holding hands as they share their visions of the future. Cast * Zamani Mohamad * Nadia Ramli * Lim Ah Leong * Teoh Kim Moi * Chandra Samy * Padma Ragavan * General Yoshiyuki Narita * Japanese soldiers * British officers Category:Films Category:2011 films Category:Independent franchise films Category:Films set in Malaysia Category:Films set in the 1940s Category:Films set in the 1950s Category:Films set in World War II Category:Films based on other films Category:Films based on other works